The Day Before Yesterday

One Of Those Days

We had just beaten the Saitama Lions.

Cheers boomed across the stadium.

As we were leaving, I spotted a young girl trying to catch her hat that had flown off with the wind into the street. A car zoomed around the corner, unaware of the child in their path.

I flash over to her side and pull her out of the way, but my built-up velocity caused me to take her place.

The hood of the car crashes into my side; the windshield rushes to meet my face. I hear a scream in the background as the bright light from the car's headlights blinds me.

My body slumps against the ground and I can't even lift my head to make sure the girl wasn't hit as well. My eyes won't open, but the wind suddenly died down as if it wasn't gusting a second ago.

The air becomes still with a stale and musty taste to it. A ringing echoes through my head and it's all I can do to stay conscious.

Voices approach me, but I can't say anything. I try to ask if the child is okay, but within a couple of seconds, I slip into oblivion.

******************************************************

When I finally come to, it's not in a hospital like what I would've expected. Instead, I'm lying on what seems to be a...couch? My head lolls to the side suddenly, which makes me groan from the sharp stab of pain that resulted in the movement. My head is pounding, making the now-revealed voice sound muffled.

A hand is placed on my shoulder and I manage to peel my eyes open enough to recognize Coach Kataoka...whom I haven't seen in almost four years.

'I thought he wasn't at my match today?'

"B-Big Boss...," I say roughly. My throat burns.

A pause later, he responds, "Yes, I'm here, Eijun. You're going to be fine, so just relax."

"Why am I not in a hospital?" The fact that I'm not already there really confuses me; Coach Kataoka would send you to the hospital for a simple overly-stretched muscle, yet I got hit by a car...

He completely ignores the question, and instead interrogates me on what hurts and where. I decide to play along because my head honestly just hurts too much. A few minutes pass like this when I finally take note of my environment: I'm in Coach Kataoka's office, which is in Seidou. '

What?' 

"Why am I in your office, Boss? I was playing against the Saitama Lions when...," I trail off after sensing Coach Kataoka's hesitance. This is the one man I've never seen hesitate before, so something's up alright.

Ignoring his glare, I sit up halfway when I spot Takashima Rei standing off to the side. I stare at her and she stares at me. Then a cough gets my attention: it's Coach Ochiai. He's sitting across from me on the opposite couch.

I glance from him, to Rei-san, to Coach Kataoka, and back to Ochiai. All three merely look at me, not saying a word.

My eyes narrow at this strange behavior. I mean, come on! It hasn't been that long since we last met, so what's the problem? I stand abruptly. Maybe a little too fast because I waver between standing and falling back down to the cushion. Coach Kataoka grasps my upper arm tightly, making sure I don't collapse.

I shake him off slightly and he gets the message that I'm good.

"Well, it's been great seeing all of you after so long, but my team is probably worried, so I have to go now." I bow a bit more shallowly than my usual bow, but my head says otherwise.